


Felicitous: At Sea

by KingKagura, TheCityCesspool



Category: Durarara!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pirate, F/F, M/M, Minor Original Character(s), Multi, Original Universe, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pirates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:47:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25099405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KingKagura/pseuds/KingKagura, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCityCesspool/pseuds/TheCityCesspool
Summary: The Katei—an infamous ship amongst the pirate world. Its name is known by few, yet its presence is known by some. She is an elusive ship with an equally mysterious crew. Information on this famed ship was worth gold and that was what got Izaya.He took a chance, not knowing how it would change his life forever.
Relationships: Heiwajima Shizuo/Orihara Izaya, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Other Relationship Tags to Be Added, Vorona/Yagiri Namie
Comments: 10
Kudos: 28





	1. New Member Aboard the Katei 1

**Author's Note:**

> Here is a Pirate AU which was brought to life from a mass discussion about it in the Shizaya Discord Server that TheCityCesspool and I (KingKagura) are both members of! Thanks all of you and especially our beta, jxpotato, who is especially passionate about the project!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Izaya joins a pirate crew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kagura: Hello, this is Kagura! Lol, here we go again! Another AU!!! And a pirate one at that! I don't know too much about pirates, but I wanted to help Senpai (TheCityCesspool) bring this idea to life!

“Welcome!” 

The salty calm ocean air wafted in from the nearby shore to the large port town situated on the coast of the large country, Reva. The scent only encouraged patrons to try the fresh local fish offered at the recently established Russia Sushi. Granted, no one really understood the odd name of it, but any confusion was forgotten once the customers tried the sushi, few as they were. It had only been open for a few days so far but it was clear Simon was going to need help.

“Oh, Mister Izaya!” A large half-Revanian, half-Askonian man with dark skin greeted the raven-haired customer with a smile. 

“Yo, Simon.” Despite the restaurant’s youth, Izaya naturally knew about it and was already a frequent customer. Today too, he hoped to contentedly enjoy his typical order consisting mostly of ootoro which the owner was gracious enough to give him discounts on in exchange for some past favors. But, even better, the shop wasn’t a busy place yet so there was no need for him to pay attention to anything else while he ate; truly, life was good when he could enjoy such a delightful meal on his own. Though, it seemed that today there was more than just Simon and the other scarce regulars. “You finally got help, I see.” 

Izaya was referring to the other Revanian man that was standing beside Simon behind the chef’s counter. Knowing he had been called, the man beamed. “Yep, I’m here to help Simon, from now on!” The man held out his hand, “I’m Alexei! Nice to meet you, Mister Orihara.”

Izaya took the hand, shaking it with a smile of his own. “Likewise, Alexei.” He chimed before taking a seat at the counter. As usual, Izaya ordered his beloved ootoro, even allowing the in-training Alexei to handle his meal. He enjoyed open kitchens like these, watching how humans handled food while cooking spoke wonders of their character. 

For example, Alexei was bold. The way he sliced through the fish’s flesh with ease and confidence showed his own skills as a chef. Yet, there was a certain rash jerkiness in his movement, showing his inexperience with such a delicate treat like sushi. Despite this, he overcame his nerves fluidly, gradually gaining an edge. Moving from the fish to the rice, he moulded together the small rice balls with great speed; an exhibition of his inherent outgoing-ness. Yet, when he pressed the fish to the rice, creating the nigiri, his hands were sensitive and almost gentle. How fascinating. 

Once the new chef finished, he placed the completed dish in front of Izaya. “Enjoy!” 

Izaya only smiled back briefly before he picked up one of the sushi and bit into it. The umami of the fresh fish bursted in his mouth, spreading the sweet taste of tuna. Izaya hummed in delight as he chewed and swallowed the brilliant dish fit for a god. “It’s delicious. I have to say, Alexei, you sure do have a talent as a chef!” Izaya complimented the rookie, “You could probably even overtake Simon someday.”

“Oh no!” Simon, though beaming with pride, exclaimed comedically while shaking his head. “That is not good!”

Alexei laughed at his friend’s response. “No need to worry, Simon!” He slapped the taller chef on the back with great force that didn’t shake the darker man. “I’d never try!”  
Izaya watched the two as he continued to enjoy his meal. Only when the two seemed to finish and Simon was called away by another customer, did he converse again. “Did you have any experience before this?”

“Only a little. Did some of the cooking for my crew!” Alexei replied with ease as he wiped some dishes. 

“Crew? You don’t act very merchant-like...” Izaya couldn’t resist biting at this. The corner of his mouth quirked up as he continued in a mock-whisper, “Unless you mean a _pirate_ crew.” 

“Agh! Shit!” Alexei jolted, but he caught himself too late. Despite that, he was laughing at his mistake. “I said too much!” The grown man stuck out his tongue like a little kid. An “again” was stuck in the back of his throat, Izaya could hear it through the silence. 

Pirates weren’t unusual in these parts, not to mention in a port town. You could practically spot them left and right as long as you were within the city. A port city like this was known for pirates; run by normal civilians, the world of seamen intermix with those of the land, harmonizing yet conflicting. That was what this city of Hafen in the country of Reva was like. It wasn’t strange for retired pirates to try to live life amongst those of the land. But it was odd; Alexei wasn’t even projecting the typical mannerisms of a pirate.

Simon stepped in, clapped his hand onto Alexei’s shoulder in a gesture that was meant to be reassuring, but mostly just served to jostle Alexei. “It’s alright. Izaya is a good friend and good at keeping secrets.” 

“Oh!” Alexei was quick in accepting, “If you say so Simon, then there’s no issue!” 

Something struck Izaya immediately; how was this man a pirate when he was so clearly trusting? He would venture to say the man was naive, and he would have assumed it too if Alexei’s looks didn’t match the part of a pirate.

“Yeah, we’re all friends here. Plus, I can keep a secret.” Izaya purred. His devilishly charming face works wonders but gives little to trust. However, Alexei wouldn’t have been a pirate if he weren’t daring. 

“Well, just between us, alright?” Alexei gave him a nod before he scanned the room swiftly. Then, deeming the coast clear, he leaned forward and held a hand up to whisper. “I was on the Katei!” His voice gradually rose, “Now, I’m here to help Simon out with his Russia Sushi branch! Wouldn’t want to upset the ol’ man back in Jewun!” He laughed merrily at the end.

 _The Katei_. It was a label known to some, but not by many. Most anything anyone knew was that it was the name of a ship. Even Izaya only knew just about that much. That ship stayed out of the minds of the populace but to those who deigned to remember it, any information that could be gained about that ship and her crew would be invaluable to gain. But Izaya would have to be cautious; this could be some kind of ruse. This bit of information had come far too easily. Was Alexei merely playing the part of a naive fool?

“Oh, Izaya may be able to help with your problem, Alexei!” Simon clapped his large hands together, bringing the attention of the other Revanian man to him. “He has lots of connections!”

Despite listening as well, Simon seemed to see no issue, as if this were all business as usual with Alexei; not appearing surprised at all. Izaya knew that Simon was no ordinary sushi chef; he was sharp and someone to take seriously. So Izaya knew by now he was a trustworthy source.

“Problem?” One of Izaya’s eyebrows rose with intrigue. 

“Ye, I was the navigator for the Katei, but since I’m retiring, there’s no one in the crew that can really focus on the map anymore,” Alexei explained. 

“I see, so they’re looking for a navigator…” One of the greatest chances of his life, hung right before his eyes. Information about the Katei and its crew were better than gold, especially when sold to the right people. Despite having some skepticism, Izaya couldn’t allow this prime opportunity slip, not when it was practically begging him to take it. “Actually, I think I have someone who may fit in just right.”

~

It wasn’t a particularly long journey to reach the Katei. Alexei took the lead confidently, knowing precisely where the ship had docked. The crew usually wouldn’t depart again right after an arrival. Alexei was quite a talker; throughout their journey, Izaya just had to stay silent with a smile and nod, allowing the taller man to ramble on, filing away certain pieces of information in his head under, “for future consideration”. 

“We’ll meet with the captain first, he’s the one who would make the decision on you, of course. Might be lucky enough to meet the first mate too.”

“Oh?” Izaya’s interest was piqued. “Lucky? How so?”

Alexei glanced over at him for a moment, studying him, turning the words over in his head and choosing carefully. “Well, he’s kind of a more private type of guy, see,” he explained. “But don’t be fooled by that; he’s got his title for a reason,” Alexei smiled conspiratorially, as though he thought Izaya would get the joke.

Izaya hummed. So, there was something special about that first mate. He pried further, hoping to coax more information out of Alexei. “He must be a talented person to be second to the captain.” 

Alexei’s head dipped forward as he tried and mostly failed to contain a hearty chuckle. “Well, he’s a kind guy, I’ll say that. But well, if I say anything else and he finds out about it, I’d be at the wrong end of his blade!” The laughter eventually slowed to a stop. “Yeah, you don’t wanna be in that position, I tell ya.” There was a sense of unease, just slightly. “But really, even I don’t know a lot about him, you’d have to talk to the captain.”

“I see,” Izaya chuckled along with Alexei’s nervous laughter. “Well, I’m sure I’ll have a lot of time to get to know him.”

Alexei merely gave him a smile as they were approaching the ship. “Ooooi!! Anybody up there?” he called out. “I got my replacement, guys! Get the captain!”

“Oh, it’s Lexei!” A young woman’s voice could be heard from inside the ship. 

A young man’s voice followed, “Captain! Alexei returned with someone!” 

Izaya stood beside Alexei, peering up at the vessel. His eyes smoothed over the ship, the Katei. She was a real beauty; Izaya could tell. It looked fairly well-maintained, despite the older design. Yet, he didn’t miss the mix of modern touch to it. His eyes swept over the equipment that many ships would spill blood for. The engineer must be talented, or the mish-mash of equipment would be unwieldy and unusable.

Izaya snapped away from his observations as a tanned man with dreadlocks climbing down the ship and onto the harbor. His first impression was that the man seemed oddly unassuming and his posture didn’t give off a sense of command. This was the Captain of the Katei? The glasses-clad man held a friendly smile as he greeted Alexei. “Oh! Alexei! What brings you back to these parts? Didn’t you quit sea-faring for the sushi life?” He joked with a good laugh. 

Alexei naturally returned the shared laugh between them, the energy easy to sense. The two men clasped hands and brought each other in for a strong hug. “Simon’s gotten me a good set-up! But I have here your new navigator, Captain,” he spoke excitedly, gesturing to Izaya next to him. 

“And who do we have here?” The captain turned his attention to the young raven-haired man. 

Izaya smiled courteously as he held out his hand out, “Nice to meet you, Captain of the Katei. I am Izaya Orihara. It is a pleasure.” 

“Likewise, Izaya.” Tom returned the handshake, his grip strong. “I’m Tom Tanaka, captain of this beaut’.” He motioned towards his ship, smiling proudly. “You say you’re a navigator. Anything to back that up?”

“I can read a map, use a compass, and I can confidently say that I haven’t gotten lost ever in my life.” Izaya proclaimed haughtily. 

“Cocky, aren’t you?” Tom gave a wry smile, only to laugh. “Well, that’s not a terrible trait to have.” 

“Hey, Captain, is, uh… Shizuo around?” Alexei interjected. It appeared Izaya’s curiosity had piqued his interest. “He might need to meet the new guy too, yeah?”

“Yeah, I suppose Shizuo would want to check Izaya out for himself.” He then tilted his head back and shouted toward the ship. “Hey! One of you guys get Shizuo!” 

“On it, Captain!~” The woman’s voice from before returned. 

“Shizuo?” Izaya prompted the two older men, but they brushed him off - it seemed any questions he had, this “Shizuo” would have to answer.

It wasn’t too long before another crew member appeared. Striding down the gangplank was a tall and blond man. He wore a serious expression on his face. “Captain,” the baritone voice greeted Tom. The man then gave a brief greeting to Alexei before turning to Izaya. 

Izaya stared straight into the man’s - Shizuo’s dark golden eyes. If one were to only give it a brief glance, the eyes would seem an ordinary brown but if viewed carefully, the hints of gold reflecting the midday sunlight were visible. Not to mention Shizuo had a certain air to him that Izaya couldn’t put his finger on exactly. Intimidating? Powerful? Charming? There was something about him that drew Izaya’s attention though he wasn’t sure what. 

Izaya’s smile twitched up into a smirk. Shizuo’s eyebrow twitched. His smile only grew sharper. 

“Shizuo, meet Izaya. He’s going to be our new navigator,” Tom introduced the raven.

Izaya took over after Tom, he held out his hand to Shizuo, turning up the charm with a smile. “I’m Izaya Orihara. You must be the first mate I’ve heard so much about.” 

Shizuo’s eyes roved over Izaya, stopping for just a moment now and again. His frown deepened. There was something wrong. He didn’t know what exactly, but it was clear as day to him. Something about his eyes, that so-called smile and even the silk-laden voice. 

No, this was trouble. 

A twitch of the lips was all the warning anyone got before Shizuo spoke as he crossed his arms, clearly not returning the handshake. “I don’t like you.” 

“Oh? Too bad.” Izaya didn’t even feign surprise. “And here I thought we could have fun together.” 

Shizuo’s lips unconsciously curled in contempt. He had worked damned hard for a long time on controlling his temper. This little shit would not ruin it. 

Sensing Shizuo’s temper rising, Tom stepped in between the two. “Now that we have a navigator,” the dreadlocked captain gave a reassuring smile to Shizuo to pacify him, patting his shoulder in a show of camaraderie. “We can set off soon. Thanks for the help, Alexei.” 

Giving a casual salute to the three men, Alexei began his retreat. “Thanks again for everything, Captain! Come back for some sushi, ok? We can celebrate before you go!” 

Once Alexei had disappeared, Tom turned to his first mate and their new navigator. “Alright, how about we show you around the Katei?” 

“I would be honored,” Izaya replied. 

Shizuo couldn’t hold back a low, slight growl at the thought but he was nothing if not loyal. If this was what his Captain wanted, so be it.

“Okay, I still got some things to take care of before we set off tomorrow,” Tom excused himself as he placed a hand on Shizuo’s shoulder. “So, I’ll leave you with Shizuo.” He gave his first mate a reassuring nod before he headed back toward the ship. “Play nice!” 

Shizuo clenched his teeth, and let out a huff through his nose, turning to Izaya. “Alright, come on then,” he spoke begrudgingly.

“Aye, aye!~” Izaya sang. 

There was a clear, instant tension growing along the angles of Shizuo’s body but he left it with an annoyed growl again and turned to lead the way. “Just come on.” It was with great reluctance that Shizuo led Izaya around the Katei. Even though he just wanted to get it over with, he would do his assigned task properly. 

The ship itself was large enough with several decks to speak of. It seemed organized in terms of which rooms were where and what function they served in a logical way. Most importantly, at the very least, Izaya could know his main working areas: where to eat, bathe, sleep, and where to find Captain Tom. It wasn’t anything difficult for him to memorize, but the tour was preferable to wandering around since he probably wouldn’t have the luxury of time for it later. Besides, he could look around this way with far less suspicion if any. Not only that, but Izaya now had free reign to poke at Shizuo as they walked around, much to Shizuo’s chagrin. By the end, Shizuo thought it a miracle he hadn’t beaten this little...celery shit half to death and privately congratulated himself for it.

“Oh! Shizu-shizu!” A brunette with her hair tied in a braid wrapped up into a small ponytail suddenly appeared alongside a squinty-eyed young man. “Who’s that?”

“Isn’t that the guy Alexei brought over?” The man tilted his head as he examined Izaya.

Before Shizuo could answer the two crew members, Izaya stepped forward and introduced himself again, “I’m Izaya Orihara, the new navigator.” 

“Oh!” Both young crewmates clapped their hands in unison. 

“I’m Erika, Erika Karisawa, and this is Walker Yumasaki!” Erika introduced, “We’re both cooks! So, count on us for your meals!” 

“At last, a navigator.” The dirty blonde young man, Walker beamed. “Looks like we’ll have to do some more shopping, Erika.” 

Erika agreed, “We still gotta get more issues to last us through the trip! Who knows when’s the next time we’ll land in a big city!”

Shizuo’s nerves twitched in irritation. The two younger members of the crew were always overly talkative. Usually, Shizuo wouldn’t have minded their chattering; it added a bit more brightness in their sea-faring lives. But, today was different. The blonde first mate had a very annoying, pain in the ass, new recruit that he had to show around since Tom had asked him to and he’d always happily do as Tom asked. Still, this new navigator was getting on his last nerves with how he had stopped paying attention to double-trouble to stare at him. The walking celery stick’s red eyes were unnerving. 

“Hey, Shizu-Shizu? What’s wrong?” Erika moved closer to Shizuo, studying his expression. 

Shizuo only grunted. He didn’t have much of a chance to express his current displeasure as the raven’s silky voice cut him off. 

“ _Shizu-shizu?_ ” 

A groan almost escaped the blonde. 

“Mmhm! Shizu-shizu!” Erika nodded, face splitting into a wicked grin. “That’s my nickname for Shizuo-san!” 

Shizuo really groaned. She knew Shizuo hated it. He’s sure that’s why she insisted on using the dumb nickname. Izaya casted him a sideways glance, and Shizuo immediately regretted meeting his gaze, catching the deviousness in his eyes. What he regretted more was seeing that smirk spread across those lips. 

“Shizu-shizu, huh?” Izaya appeared to be contemplating with a hand tapping his chin, but it was clear as day that he was plotting something. “What a cute nickname.~” 

“Right! Right!” The girl enthusiastically cheered. 

Walker, though, at least showed some consideration. “Oi, oi, Erika…” 

“But, Shizu-shizu doesn’t mind!” she retorted, knowing full well that he did. 

Even to Izaya, it was clear that Shizuo minded. But just because Izaya could read the air didn’t mean he would act accordingly.

“It is a good one, I admit,” he started. “But I think for me, it would have to be…” Izaya paused for a moment, appearing to think before he turned his eyes back to Shizuo as the endearment rolled off his tongue. “...Shizu-chan.” 

The ease with which this new moniker had been created and used quite possibly angered Shizuo more than the term itself. But above all, it was the look in those red-tinted eyes that pushed him closer to the edge. Teeth gritted, he growled out his response. “Drop it, Celery.”

“ _Celery?_ ” 

Shizuo would later take pride in the confusion that spread across Izaya’s face before he could cover it up with that infuriating smirk and continue, “That’s quite a flattering moniker you’re using yourself, Shizu-chan. Ah, so we’re on a pet name-basis already?”

It wasn’t just the teasing and pin-pointed accuracy of the comment thrown at him that really prodded at Shizuo’s anger. No, he felt the very slightest bit of a blush appear on his cheeks, the blood rushing there before the anger followed. If anything, his very involuntary reaction was even faster to anger him than the actual barbs casually thrown his way.

A squeal interrupted their exchange before Shizuo could bite out a retort. “Cute! Shizu-shizu is so cute when he’s flustered!”

Walker paled and looked quickly between Erika and Shizuo, trying to pick which bullet to bite. Thankfully he needn’t attempt to pacify either of them, because Tom reappeared from the captain’s quarters. “I heard a scream. Did something happen?” 

“No, it’s nothing.” Shizuo calmed down immediately as the captain joined them. Though his anger and irritation were still boiling beneath his skin, he didn’t feel as if he was on the verge of eruption. “Just Erika getting overexcited again.” 

“Ahh…” Tom nodded in understanding. He didn’t touch the subject much more, instead, he casually directed them with a little lopsided grin. “How about we head out now? No need to make dinner tonight. We’ll go to Russia Sushi!”

“Really?! Lexei’s cooking?!” Erika beamed, overjoyed. When Tom nodded with a congenial smile, the two younger crew members high-fived each other and did their own little celebration dance. 

Captain Tom was unlike any other captain Izaya had seen; he didn’t seem to ever actually give proper orders yet he clearly held his crew’s respect. In fact, the tanned man acted casual and rather friendly for a captain. It had been apparent in his earlier interaction with Alexei and Shizuo and even now as his crew gathered at the deck too. How truly bizarre. 

Speaking of the crew, Izaya noted how surprisingly small it was. Though it was true that the ship itself wasn’t some massive cruise liner, it was not small by any means. Yet, the party which ran it was merely eight—now, nine. Something was most definitely off here and Izaya would get to the bottom of it. 

As Shizuo trailed the others, following them to the restaurant, Izaya took the opportunity to look over his shoulder at him with that smirk.

~

There simply wouldn’t be enough booze in the world at this point to calm Shizuo down again; not while everyone just kept on talking to that damn obnoxious celery stick. Even though Izaya was drinking along with everyone else while seemingly consuming an ungodly amount of ootoro, Shizuo could tell he wasn't slipping up at all. Indeed, that little shit was smoothly spewing lie after lie, like he was born to do it. Every word was picked carefully. But Shizuo couldn’t prove it based on his gut feeling, so he refrained from speaking at all.

It’d be easier that way. Plus, he knew the Captain would not appreciate infighting, particularly in public. Still, it was damned hard to listen to it even with the alcohol. 

“So, you’re from Xizhen? That’s more to the north in Jewun, right?” the quartermaster and engineer, Kyouhei Kadota, asked.

“That’s right, gets cold in the winter, for sure. Nice for ice fishing, though,” Izaya smoothly carried on the conversation. 

There was nothing that truly stood out as an obvious lie. Nevertheless, Shizuo could tell. Indeed, their new navigator was about as suspicious as he could be. It only made him angrier too that he couldn’t do anything about it. He didn’t fault the others for buying into it either; the celery-stick was skilled in acting. But he couldn’t fool Shizuo. Frowning around his mug of ale, Shizuo could only imagine the absolute nonsense and bullshit he’d have to put up with from now on.

“Ohh… another only-child to add to the crew!” The designated look-out, Saburo Togusa cheered in the midst of his drunken stupor after hearing Izaya’s answer to Erika’s question about family—another lie, Shizuo was sure of it. 

Shinra, the medic, who usually wasn’t one for such frivolous activities, was strangely entranced by the celery-stick too. Rather than drinking and eating on his own, he was deep into the mountain of lies from that spewing bastard. “Pretty much everyone but Shizuo-kun is an only-child!” The brunette doctor seemed to really enjoy talking about other people’s business too. 

Izaya hummed with interest, probably the most sincere sound Shizuo had heard from the raven that whole evening. “So, Shizu-chan has siblings?” He rested his chin on his palm as he leaned on the table with his elbow. Izaya gazed straight at the blond who was pointedly ignoring him. 

“Yeah! Shizuo-kun has a little brother!” Shinra answered in his stead. Shizuo paid him back by shoving some sushi in his mouth to effectively shut the noisy medic up. 

“Oh? A little brother!” But the damage was already done. Like the annoyance he was, Izaya pounced on the new information. “What’s he like, Shizu-chan?~” 

“Fuck off, Celery,” Shizuo growled out. He threw a glare at the raven as he sipped the last of his ale. There was no telling what the slimy bastard would do if he didn’t keep an eye on him. 

Izaya pouted, “Stingy.” The raven-haired man still looked unphased like he wasn’t drinking alcohol at all. After another sip out of his mug, Izaya placed it back down on the table with a light clatter. 

“Anyway, what’s with _celery_?”

Shizuo gave him a blank look, “What?” 

“You keep calling me that,” Izaya accused, pointing at him. “What does it even mean? At least ‘Shizu-chan’ makes sense.”

“Celery _does_ make sense,” Shizuo retorted, more engaged than he’d been all night. 

Izaya shot him a bored look and Shizuo started to explain. “‘Cuz...celery is like...stringy and gets stuck in your teeth so it’s really obnoxious, like you. It’s bitter but watery and then it doesn’t even have any flavor so it’s really annoying, like you.” As he did, his voice only increased in volume and emotion which he’d been keeping pent up all day. “And then it leaves a weird taste in your mouth and it’s so freakin’ irritating, like **_you!_ **” 

Shizuo had slammed his mug down on the table with his ending shout. The abrupt eruption sent a shock wave through Izaya and startled the rest of the restaurant. The crew were quick to recover, used to these sorts of outbursts, and carried on swiftly. However, Izaya, who had only just witnessed this for the first time, was in a state of astonishment. His mouth parted open ever so slightly and his eyes widened just enough to be noticeable as he stared at Shizuo. 

But the exasperated Shizuo wasn’t done just yet as his voice dropped into a quiet intensity. “Besides—celery is all delicate and easy to snap in half, just like _you_.” He hissed his last word, only to stop his rant altogether. He looked a little embarrassed at his outburst, turning his head away when he noticed how much he had lost control. 

But Izaya saw it; Shizu-chan’s face at the end...now _that_ was something. An expression filled with that kind of passion...well now. This was likely the most interesting day he has had in awhile. With this alone, Izaya was positive he’d made the right move today. For just an instant, a genuine grin flitted across his face. 

_Delicate_ , was he? Oh, how easily he’d prove Shizu-chan wrong. 

“Alright, guys! Time to head home!” Tom announced, hoping to dissipate the tension. 

Izaya looked forward to tomorrow for the first time in a long time.

~

The morning after, Izaya found himself in high spirits. Having easily gathered his paltry amount of possessions, he was off to the ship quite early. It was a pirate ship, the crew were bound to all be up by now anyway. 

Or, so he thought. 

“Looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.” 

“Shut the fuck up, Celery,” Shizuo groaned as he rubbed his temples as he leaned against the deck’s guardrails. He was having a horrible morning and it wasn’t even because of a hangover. He didn’t manage to sleep well last night due to being plagued by dreams of a certain conniving celery-stick of a man. It was all that damn Izaya’s fault! 

“What’s wrong, Shizu-chan? It’s a bright, hopeful day! We’re going to be setting sail!” Izaya seemed to be a mass of boundless energy which only gained traction the more Shizuo suffered. “Oh, I see. You had too much to drink last night.” The annoyance smirked as he examined him some more. Shizuo had thought Izaya couldn’t get _more annoying_. Apparently, he was wrong, because next Izaya purred: “Or is it that you couldn’t sleep? I would have kept you company, you know.”

That was _it_. Shizuo had tolerated it as long as he could. With a total lack of decent sleep, his anxiety, and the pure agitation over Izaya, Shizuo snapped for the first time in a long time. A shout tore its way out of his throat before he knew it as his hand formed a fist aimed straight at the navigator. It got closer and closer to Izaya’s face. It was the fastest punch Shizuo had thrown in his whole life; it was surely going to hit.

Yet, it didn’t. 

Shizuo’s fist only met empty air, snapping the delirious blond from his rage-driven fog out to clearer vision. The next thing he saw was a smudge of black at the bottom of his peripherals followed by a flash of pain that caused Shizuo to stumble backward, grasping his chest. Blood seeped out of the fresh wound there—a thin yet precise slice across it. Unable to process what had just occurred, Shizuo just stood there. He stared bewildered at Izaya, who held a knife in his hand.

“See?” Those poisonous lips smirked. “Didn’t I tell you we could have some fun?”

The Captain’s shout wasn’t enough to break their connected gaze.

“Katei! Set sail!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kagura: Senpai and I can't stop laughing and smiling at "Celery" XD  
> Time for some trivia!  
> "Katei" is Japanese for home/family. Interesting to think why Tom would name his ship that. :3  
> I hope all of you enjoyed this chapter and will enjoy exploring the world Senpai and I have created!  
> Please leave a comment! We feed off of them and love to hear your impressions and desires! Thank you!~


	2. New Member Aboard the Katei 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 1 of Izaya aboard the Katei

“We just set sail and you got injured already?” 

Shizuo leered at the medic as he sat on the stool in the ship’s designated infirmary. “It was stupid Celery’s fault,” Shizuo griped.

“ _Celery?_ ” Shinra questioned for a second before he remembered, “Ah! You mean Izaya?” 

The doctor didn’t wait for an answer as he motioned for him to undress, which Shizuo did with a huff. He threw his bloody shirt aside, baring the wound on his chest. Shinra examined the wound, fingers gently lingering on the edges of it for a moment as if admiring it before he reached for his supplies to disinfect and bandage it. "It's amazing how clean it is…" 

"Clean?"

“Well, he must really know what he’s doing with a knife,” Shinra examined, “This wound is shallow but precise; there’s no jagged parts and the knife itself must be of good quality.” 

“Fine, so he’s good with knives,” Shizuo huffed, annoyed. “So, what?” 

The only answer he received is a light laugh. It irritated the blonde further, making his mood worse. Shinra’s next comment only added fuel to the flame. 

“Well, it’s the most superficial wound I’ve seen on you, yet it seems to be the one that’s got you bothered the most!” The medic’s expression and words did nothing to hide his amusement. Shizuo glared daggers at the wall. The intensity of his gaze could probably burn a hole through the wood. Thankfully, this wouldn’t last for much longer. Shinra was just about finished. 

“So, it won’t scar right?” Shizuo resigned from his staring match with the wall, turning his attention back to Shinra. There would at least be some kind of good news to come from all of this. 

But, Shinra’s expression did not reflect that. The brunette gave him a wry smile. “... I didn’t say that.”

Shizuo growled as Shinra left to put away his tools and supplies. The medic was utterly unphased by the taller man’s seething rage that was clearly bubbling closer and closer to the surface, minding his own business. Shizuo redressed in a quick motion before he stormed out of the infirmary.

_God damn it, Celery…!_

~

The crew’s quarters on the Katei were quite generous. Though, perhaps it was to be expected given their small number compared to the grand size of the ship. In fact, even Izaya’s personal room was larger than what he had expected to be given in the Jewunian ship. 

Izaya neatly stored away the last of his personal belongings before he hid his bag under his bed, keeping it out of sight. 

The crew members’ quarters were separated between men and women, with each having a room in their designated end of the ship. From what Izaya had observed on his way here, there weren’t any indicators of which room belonged to who and which ones were occupied or not. So, he needed to memorize the layout beyond the general areas Shizuo had shown him prior. Perhaps he could even use the blonde’s poor excuse of a tour to be nosy and search other members’ rooms or certain areas for possible information. The items carelessly left out in the open and on the walls could tell him more than anything the crew might say. 

The plan blooming in his head was cut short by knocking at his door. Puzzled, Izaya carefully opened the door to find a short blonde woman with a dull expression. He had seen her the previous night along with the rest of the crew—the boatswain, Vorona. Or, at least that’s what he could pull from his memory. 

“Good morning, Vorona… right?” Izaya greeted the woman with a charming smile and a gentle tone. He edged false hesitance into his voice, a ruse to trick the woman into placing herself on a higher pedestal than him. Pirates were prideful creatures. Get them boasting and they can’t seem to keep their mouths shut, especially with those they see as “lower than themselves” in the hierarchy. He needed to pull information from these people, but of course, it wouldn’t do to try so overtly. 

The tactic didn’t work. 

Vorona only stared back at him, blankly. If it weren’t for her agitated body language, Izaya would have pondered on whether she was truly impassive. The blonde crossed her arms and leaned against the door frame as if she were irritated or annoyed into an exhaustion. “Captain calls you to his quarters.” She spoke with a finality in her Revanian-accented tone. 

That was another particular thing Izaya had noticed. The majority of the crew members were of Jewunian descent as far as Izaya could tell by their accents and features. However, Vorona was the sole Revanian member now as Alexei had retired. It was no surprise that there were no Askonians present, but given Alexei’s former employment, he had expected there to be more Revanians than this. 

Reva, Jewun, and Askon were the largest, most powerful and influential countries, separated by the great vast ocean. Most of the world’s population could be found in these three countries. As such, not many knew the extent of the minor countries and island nations that were littered across the seas. 

Each major nation prided themselves on their unique histories and cultures. Reva prides itself as a flourishing hierarchical society in which royalty stands above and leads their people, who were typically reserved more often than not, yet they were innovative people. Though, of course as with Alexei, there were some outliers. Jewun prefered a more isolated lifestyle, with its people typically culturally traditional in the average home but then many more were of a free-spirited nature, warm, and energetic. They were not, however, isolated to the extent of the current Askon. Askon was once a country open for entrepreneuring with its capitalist society. They typically produced good fighters and idealists with great ambitions. However, for the past decade, the country had closed itself off from the outside world. No one could enter or leave Askon and those outside of the large country could only hypothesize the internal circumstances of the gated country. There were even rumors and speculation of a “dictatorship” floating around.

Izaya did not have to speculate. 

“I will head there forthwith,” Izaya smiled despite Vorona’s cold demeanor. His demeanor slipped towards apologetic as his tone stayed soft. “Would you mind showing me the way? I’m afraid I am not yet adept with the ship’s layout,” he hoped to lower the woman’s guard and draw out something from her. 

Vorona silently nodded as she pushed off from the door frame. Izaya followed after her, not protesting the woman’s stoic silence. Instead, he decided to probe, playing the new recruit role. “Might I first ask what your role is on the Katei?” 

Vorona’s face stayed impassive, but she did answer. “I am Boatswain,” her curt answer was quite lacking in what he was hoping to hear. Despite her minimal communication skills, the woman was in charge of the crew and the equipment. It was quite interesting how someone who barely spoke like her could land such a position amongst this crew when many others were much more social. Perhaps her capabilities outweighed her social skills? Izaya would likely discover the reason at a later time. 

Izaya didn’t question the blonde after that. Upon reflection, Izaya postulated that he wouldn’t get much more from Vorona given her behavior during dinner at Russia Sushi the previous night matching her current one. A more precarious method of getting the information he needed might be necessary, and soon. 

~

“Ah, Izaya.” Tom greeted him once he stepped into the captain’s quarters. “Thanks for coming so quickly.” It was a nice room, though not the largest but it seemed to hold a gentle atmosphere. Yet another oddity.

“Of course, Captain.” Izaya responded, eager to establish and maintain a spot in Tom’s good books. But, they weren’t the only ones present; Shizuo was standing by Tom’s desk, looking generally impatient and irritated. 

“Well then, come over and have a look at this,” Tom spoke firmly and yet congenially as he always did. In a way, that ability was impressive, Izaya thought. 

As it turned out, the reason he was summoned was to discuss their travel plan: where they were heading and how they would get there. Shizuo was involved very little in it, but Izaya got the sense that this was normal. However, once the destination and route was established along with the approximated time of arrival, the small meeting turned into a small orientation for Izaya. He was informed about necessary equipment and who he could ask about it, the overall idea of daily duties each member had to keep and how the schedule worked for certain tasks which rotated such as cleaning and upkeep; and the general routine and emergency workings in any place of commune like this. Despite the vast amount of information dropped on him, Izaya held no issue. There was nothing tough about it at all and he could confidently memorize such logic of the life on the Katei. Though, that didn’t mean Izaya could do absolutely everything. 

“Izaya, how’s your experience with swords?” Tom threw the question casually, as though anticipating that the answer wouldn’t be of any concern. 

“Nonexistent.” 

At the instant reply, both Tom and Shizuo quickly whipped their heads to look at him with varying degrees of disbelief. How could Izaya, who had shown great skill in navigation, geography, and with a knife, have no experience with a sword? Especially, given how he had managed to knick Shizuo just that morning. 

Seeing their expressions, Izaya took it upon himself to explain. As a traveler, he only used the knife for necessary survival or protection where he’d had to. Shizuo found this bit was odd, but considering Izaya’s skill with that thing, Shizuo supposed it was reasonable enough. However, that wasn’t the first mate’s main concern. He knew where this line of events was leading to and he didn’t like it at all. There was only one logical conclusion to this sudden conundrum and Tom would be on the same page. 

“Well then, I’d like to have you start training under Shizuo in swordsmanship effective immediately.” Tom settled, his tone implying that there would surely be no conflicting opinions on the matter. 

Shizuo knew what was coming, but he still had to refrain from rubbing at his forehead to preemptively stave off a headache. He knew one would be imminent with the way Izaya’s face lit up with clear interest and excitement. Reluctantly, yet agreeable, Shizuo answered, “Alright, Tom, I’m on it.” 

The irritating Celery answered politely. “Understood Captain,” smiling all the while though Shizuo thought he saw a flash of confusion in his red-tinted eyes. 

~

After the meeting, Shizuo showed Izaya to the supply room where the practice equipment is kept. Most of them were dulled down or even made of bamboo, but others were more typical sharp ones. Taking a dulled blade for each of them, Shizuo then brought Izaya out to the deck. It was a silent walk between locations, despite Izaya’s brief attempt to goad something out of him. However, after a short while the raven seemed to grow bored of that and went quiet. It was odd and disconcerting; Shizuo couldn’t shake the feeling that Izaya was plotting something. At least he wasn’t testing the first mate’s patience though, not that it helped alleviate the blonde’s nervousness.

It wasn’t raining much this summer, so the allotted area for practice and training on deck was the preferred location as fights usually took place on deck. Further, it was big enough for more than one group to practice and train at a time. As such, Erika and Vorona were already actively making use of it at one end. They seemed to be doing sprints and muscle training today. To not be in their way, Shizuo led Izaya to the other end, mentally preparing himself for this task as he threw Izaya a sword. 

“We’ll train five days a week until I deem you qualified to hold your own with a sword in a fight,” Shizuo started. He’d trained a couple of people in swordfighting before, so he was not lacking confidence or experience. 

“As you say, Master.” Izaya bowed but his face held playfulness not compliance. 

That was enough for Shizuo to feel a flush across his face and to be far too close to crushing his sword’s handle right there, but he pushed it back as he forced himself into a proper mode of instruction. “Say what you want,” his deep voice rang out in a firm response. “But you will listen properly and do as I say. I don’t need you losing a hand cause you can’t swing a sword right. Am I understood?” 

Interestingly, Izaya’s eyes had widened just that little bit. There was a bit of hesitance in the small twitch of his mouth as though he was trying to decide how to respond as opposed to simply responding. “Alright, Shizu-chan, we’ll do it your way,” came the answer, low in tone and more serious. 

Shizuo shuddered. Now he felt as though those sharp eyes were scrutinizing him. He shook the unease away. It didn’t matter, he just needed some damn cooperation for this.

“We’ll go over weapon care and maintenance another time,” he began. “You said you have no experience but let’s see your capabilities first.”

They begin with a quick spar, his instruction was solid and with blunt criticism throughout the fight. Despite what Izaya had claimed, he was holding fairly well for someone without experience. For one, in spite of how he was thin like a celery-stick, he held a surprising amount of strength. Though, naturally, it didn’t measure up to Shizuo’s. 

“Don’t swing with your wrist! Use your whole arm.” 

Izaya followed his instruction without a word, being quite obedient unlike Shizuo’s previous fears. The force in his next swing wasn’t too bad, but could be greatly improved upon. Though even with that, Izaya wouldn’t be able to overpower someone of a greater physique and strength like Shizuo. Luckily, Izaya was agile and swift as Shizuo had experienced first-hand when the raven wielded that knife of his. Plus, he had that calculative head of his. 

Izaya managed to drag Shizuo’s attack out before parrying and striking himself. At the successful attack, his mouth dragged up into a smirk to match his now playful eyes. Yet it did not deter Shizuo from his calm instruction. 

“Alright, that’s enough.” 

After assessing Izaya’s capabilities, Shizuo proceeded to have the raven make his best basic stance. The legs and feet were actually well executed, he had a good sense of utilizing his center of gravity. But his arms and posture needed some work. The sounds of the others exercising faded into the background.

“Wrist straight.”

Izaya changed the angle.

“Elbow relaxed.”

Izaya relaxed it.

“Now show me a lunge to strike.”

Now this was all wrong. 

“Watch your knee, you don’t lunge that far forward and don’t let it turn inwards,” Shizuo wrapped a hand around Izaya’s leg just below the knee to move it. He thought for a second Izaya stiffened up, but ignored it and stood back up to look at the rest of the stance. “Good work with the shoulder position but keep that elbow relaxed.” With these words, he moved Izaya’s arm, noticing it felt as delicate as it looked through the thin long-sleeved shirt. In fact, the dark cloth seemed to flow around Izaya more than anything else; the front-laced area was quite low, not offering much protection. 

...But that wasn’t important. 

“Never forget the wrist; when a weapon meets yours, the force of it won’t all go to the wrist if you keep it straight.” He explained. Oddly, this typically annoying celery was behaving for the most part, but he did seem to be getting more and more impatient.

“Don’t you think this is boring, Shizu-chan?” Shizuo’s observations were right; Izaya appeared exasperated and restless from just being taught forms. “Let’s spar again!”

Well, swordsmanship was something to be learned in practice rather than in just words and forms alone. 

“Alright,” Shizuo agreed. Time to put Celery in his place.

They both took their positions, not very far away from each other. Shizuo moved to strike first, Izaya blocking with the flat of his blade, but the sheer force of the blow knocked him off balance and he stumbled. Izaya’s face scrunched with some emotion ever so slightly. 

“When defending, move back a little more to give yourself room and a more effective defense,” Shizuo coached as he moved forward, pushing Izaya further back. “Try and counter. When striking, move your weapon before your body.” 

Izaya complied, aiming a strike at a vulnerable area. Shizuo had to admit it was a well-executed move for a beginner especially with how quick Izaya was. Shizuo parried the attack, however, and locked their weapons in place for a moment. Shizuo stared into Izaya’s eyes, catching the intensity burning within them. It was distracting, Shizuo almost missing Izaya’s quick break from the lock and the sharp follow-up swipe. But, Shizuo evaded the blow despite that speed which, although impressive, wasn’t enough to best him. Plus, there were stances and movements Shizuo noted to fix later. 

This wasn’t the end of Izaya’s assault though. The raven flashed him a cocky smirk as he twirled around to attack one more. Despite the clear issues with his form, Izaya’s footwork was impressive. The lithe man made his movements look like a dance, yet the swordplay was still amateurish. Unlike his earlier attempts, this time, Izaya goaded him. “How’s that knife wound, Shizu-chan?” 

Shizuo parted his mouth, but didn’t have a chance to answer. Izaya had used words to cover a new attack, however, Shizuo dodged once again, using the handle of his blade to strike Izaya in the side of his ribcage where he’d left himself exposed, causing him to topple over and onto his back. Before Izaya’s eyes opened again after bracing for his fall, Shizuo had him. The faint noise of gasping in the background registered in the back of the blonde’s mind. 

But, they didn’t even hold a candle to those eyes. 

Shizuo was locked into place by those pervasive wine-red eyes. It was like their positions were swapped; he was the one on the ground, sword to his throat stealing his ability to look away or move at all. The intensity behind an incomprehensible emotion in those eyes ruled over Shizuo. His stance and posture may have been of the victor, but somehow…

… It almost felt bittersweet.

Even so, Shizuo had naturally won this spar. His opponent lay there, completely vulnerable and somewhat out of breath, staring up into Shizuo’s eyes as if it were as natural as breathing itself. Now, the blonde noticed the flush of exertion on Izaya’s cheeks as his breathing began to slow. Those eyes broke their long stare as they seemed to roam around Shizuo’s form for what felt like quite some time to Shizuo, finally trailing along the expertly-held sword with the tip ever-so slightly prodding at his throat that the pressure must be obvious. Izaya swallowed quite visibly and closed his eyes as his breathing began to even out around a strange, new smile. He didn’t know what it meant, but it twisted something in Shizuo's stomach.

A strange impulse spread through him. 

As if in a dream, Shizuo gently moved the sword tip to push underneath Izaya’s chin and tilt that head back, further exposing the long column of his throat. Unknowingly, his own eyes flared with intensity as he waited, anticipating the stare that was trapped beneath those delicate lashes. His mouth set to a frown. 

When Izaya opened his eyes again, they almost seemed… soft. 

“Heh,” Izaya let out a short and accepting laugh, his voice soft and breathless. His tongue flicked out of his mouth, wetting his lips. “I might need more practice, Master.”

Feeling an odd tremble inside at the sound and meaning of the words, Shizuo’s mind automatically pushed it away, likely to show up in dreams later but he couldn’t think about it now. Instead, the blonde moved his sword away, offering a hand to pull Izaya back onto his feet, which the raven took. Izaya’s hand was actually a bit calloused like his own, he noted, yet he could not think of why it stuck out so much in his mind. Though, Shizuo didn’t linger on the thought since Izaya was back on his own two feet. 

“Alright, I’ll go over the main areas for improvement that I saw,” Shizuo started, breaking the slight awkwardness that hung in the air. Moving through each point, Shizuo watched Izaya’s form and movements to ensure the celery man seemed to understand. 

“One more spar, Shizu-chan? Please?” Shizuo sighed almost more for show, but agreed.

This round, the battle was more calculated on both sides. The two watched each other closely for the slightest of movements before Izaya started with a fake to the right, trying to out-maneuver Shizuo, it seemed. But the execution was off and Shizuo easily blocked the attempt and slapped aside Izaya’s sword. Interestingly, Izaya was clumsier this time around, as though he were being somewhat reckless. Odds were that Celery was more tired than he let on and was being stubborn, Shizuo thought. 

Disarmed, Izaya’s eyes flashed to where his sword had landed almost helplessly. Or, that was Shizuo’s take on the reaction. That was until the raven pulled out a couple of knives from his clothing and nimbly backstepped. Izaya launched them at Shizuo faster than the first mate had expected, but he wasn’t a sword master for nothing. Shizuo swiftly managed to strike the knives away before he raised his sword to connect with a dagger. 

“It’s nice to have a back-up weapon but it’ll only help you retreat. You can’t win,” Shizuo declared loudly and firmly enough to be heard over the sounds of their weapons and footwork. It was about time to end this. He swung his sword, hitting Izaya’s hand hard enough to make him drop the knife he was currently holding. The impact drew out a hiss from the raven, but he had no time to recover. Once again, Shizuo held his sword up at Izaya’s throat. “Or at least, you’d never beat me with it.”

Izaya blinked as if to clear some kind of haze and his breathing was more haggard this time than last. In fact, if anything, he almost seemed rather annoyed. Yet his eyes never left Shizuo. Shizuo took this in and felt an odd sense of satisfaction that he usually didn’t indulge in. 

“We’ll stop here today.” The first mate handed his own sword over to Izaya. “Put these back away properly and we’ll meet again here, same time tomorrow,” he spoke a bit softer to end the entire interaction. As he left the area, leaving that stronger-than-he-looked Celery behind with the diligently watching Vorona and Erika, he could have sworn the oddly silent raven’s eyes were burning into his back.

~

It was strange. 

Shizuo was a skilled swordsman and such skill wouldn’t just escape the grapevine like it had. Given how the first mate acted throughout their lesson, it was clear he was experienced in teaching as well. So, such skill definitely hadn’t gone unnoticed. It was likely what helped raise his rank on the Katei; the reason Alexei had claimed he’d never want to be on the wrong end of Shizuo’s sword. 

It was insane, clearly. He’d never seen anyone like this and it was just so much. _He_ was so much. 

It was perfect. How fascinating that someone so skilled was also so unknown. Perhaps, this ship held more secrets than he had anticipated. 

After dinner, Izaya paced inside of his own room, deliberating on his next course of action, his face displaying a concentrated frown. He’d thought earlier he would have to ramp up his efforts in information gathering, but now he was certain he needed to act quickly. It would be fine; he’d sneak out of his room in the darkness of nightfall and do some digging here and there, probably in Captain Tom’s office first. 

So he waited for the moon to rise and all nearby human activity to cease in sleep.

~

In the darkness, Izaya faintly wished for a lantern for a bit of light. Though he did have his pocket light, he couldn’t just waste the power here when he would require it later for reading documents. Power sources were quite rare and Izaya had only just recently been able to obtain one after his previous one ran out. So, the raven was resigned to adjust his eyes to the darkness as he crept slowly within the ship. Since it was deep into the night, time shouldn’t be a big issue; he could take his time so as to not stumble or get lost. Thankfully, he remembered where the Captain’s office was easily enough from his room since he’d made the trip earlier that day. 

Creeping up to the office door, Izaya looked around once more even though his visibility was minimal. The office wasn’t accessible from the upper deck so there wasn’t much illumination from the moon for him to utilize either. Still, he knew it was the right place. Slowly making his way inside to avoid excessive noise, the dark room would offer a new challenge with the limited areas to see. But, Izaya didn’t mind that as he dug through his clothes for his pocket light. 

Until a sound stilled him to inaction. 

The door behind him opened and shut, alarming Izaya to whip around. There stood Shizuo with a lantern which illuminated his features were twisted in anger in a near-objectively frightening way. But before Izaya could even try to react, he was shoved against a wall as soon as the lantern which the blonde once held clattered against the floor. Izaya flinched at the impact and Shizuo’s harsh grip around his wrist. 

“What the hell are you doing here, Celery?” Shizuo’s voice rumbled out at a normal volume, not caring about any attention he might bring. The light from the floor only caused the taller man’s face to be shadowed over in darkness, only slightly illuminating it. Izaya’s eyes quickly adjusted to the new lighting just in time to push back into the wall when Shizuo leaned over him. He was trapped between the blonde’s arms and the wall, stuck in place as the man inched his face closer. Izaya could feel Shizuo’s warm breath brush against his face. 

He couldn’t help but swallow, unease bubbling up to his chest as his heart beat frantically. Shizuo leered at Izaya and he couldn’t help but return the silent stare. He couldn’t understand what was hiding beneath those brown eyes, his iris flecked with gold. They stared into Izaya’s own with a force he had never quite seen before. Just what was it? Betrayal? Suspicion? Satisfaction? Elation? No, Izaya couldn’t put his finger on it. 

Oddly, Shizuo hadn’t pressed further after pinning the shorter man against the wall and was just looking at him; those eyes flitting around his face as if looking for an answer there. 

Finally getting his mind back in working order, Izaya tried to push back at Shizuo despite knowing it wouldn’t push him away but it might distract him enough for Izaya to pull out a knife. Instead, Shizuo removed his hand from the wall to take Izaya’s other wrist and press it back up against the wall, angling his body even closer. 

“What are you _doing_ , Izaya?” the first mate growled again, quietly yet more intense this time. Izaya shook inside at the use of his actual name. What was more, that question had come with heavy breathing in Shizuo’s raging emotions, the heat of it trickled almost gently down his neck and curled along the skin of his chest. The feather-light sensation forced Izaya to bite down some kind of noise in his throat that he was certain would wreck him completely. Right then, Izaya knew he was helpless. 

“I—” He tried at a pitiful attempt of speech, but was abruptly interrupted by loud frantic ringing which rumbled throughout the ship.  
“Invaders! Everyone to your battle stations, immediately!” Saburo’s voice rang out over what Izaya assumed was a ship-wide emergency alarm. 

Shizuo’s face dropped almost all of his emotions as he backed away, picking up the lantern. He didn’t break eye contact as Izaya remained against the wall, still not quite lowering his arms though they were now free. Shizuo’s eyes said this wasn’t over but he gestured at the office’s exit and left.  
  


A different kind of fight was coming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kagura: Time for trivia!
> 
> Reva is a country based on our world Germany and Russia. It mostly holds a lot of what we would call "European culture"! Reva is broken up into many different territories within the country all with their own little bits of culture too and it is located closer to Jewun than Askon!


	3. New Member Aboard the Katei 3

The Katei’s cabins at night were always unyieldingly dark, indiscriminately shadowing the halls and preventing clear sight for both its enemies and protectors. Shizuo held the bright lantern in his hand, illuminating the dark halls with light so he wouldn’t miss even a rat crawling past. It was his turn for patrol duty, although it was unlikely for there to be any stowaways or enemies on board beyond the annoyance of their new navigator. It never hurt to be safe though, especially since a shady bastard did just join them. 

Though… Celery wasn’t as bad as Shizuo had first thought. Seeing the navigator's skills in their meeting earlier that day, he could tell that Izaya was intelligent and knowledgeable. Then again, perhaps it was that intelligence and sly manner that really set the alarm bells off in Shizuo’s head during their first meeting. Yet, the first mate couldn’t forget the raven’s display later during their training session. His determination and temperament while sparring with Shizuo was far from disturbing. Perhaps Tom was right that Izaya would be a good addition to the team; he’s always had a good judge of character. 

A shift in the shadows snapped Shizuo from his thoughts and to the abrupt movement. His trained eyes catching onto the brush of darkness moving through the hallway.  _ An intruder…?  _

Shizuo squinted at the area as he silently crept after the shadow. When the shadow had stopped moving, Shizuo hid the lantern behind him as he watched from behind a wall. It was in front of Tom’s office, feeling the door for a moment before whipping its head around. Shizuo quickly hid a bit more, only relying on what little he could see. It took a bit, but when the figure had turned his way, his eyes had been able to distinguish their face. They widen as he recognizes that dark mop of hair and fine sharp features even when shadowed by darkness. 

_ Izaya!  _

The shadow, which he identified as Izaya, snuck into Tom’s office, softly closing the door behind him. Dread swallowed Shizuo whole; an ache panged within his chest and spread to the rest of his body. There were only so many things this could mean. 

He knew it. He  _ knew _ it! Shizuo had known since he first laid eyes on Izaya that he was nothing but trouble. He was right to not trust the sketchy little shit. That fucking bastard was only acting this whole time…! What was he after? The Katei’s treasures? Money? Secrets? Just the thought made Shizuo’s blood boil. 

Yet, why? Why did his chest ache and hurt so much? 

There was a burn in the back of his throat as Shizuo clenched his hands and gritted his teeth. Anger consumed him. He didn’t usually submit to this rage, even if it built up and was ready to burst, he was good at holding back. But this time he let it engulf him. 

Shizuo dashed over to the office door, shoving his way inside quickly, not caring about noise. As the door closed behind him, he saw Izaya’s head snap toward him. The navigator’s eyes widened slightly, but beyond that Shizuo gave him no time to react. 

Throwing aside the lantern, Shizuo charged. The lantern clattered against the floor behind him, but the blonde was already across the room with a hand crushing Izaya’s wrist into the wall and the other boxing the smaller man in. 

“What the hell are you doing here, Celery?” The heat of the question was painfully pushed out of his throat. But it only hurt because Shizuo was certain of the answer already. That tiny flame of hope would be snuffed out.

What “tiny flame of hope”? There’d never been one! 

Shizuo towered over Izaya, pressing closer to the smaller man. The lantern he had dropped shone a dim yellow light gently along his features, clashing with those bright eyes and casting a shadow along the sharp features. The deep red of those eyes stared back at his own unmercifully. 

They were hypnotizing. Dark and mysterious but so vivid. It was like those eyes cast a spell on him, enchanting Shizuo to stare into the void. 

A breath caught in the first mate’s throat, lodging there for a moment before it escaped in an exhale. Shizuo tore his gaze away from the raven’s eyes, averting down to man’s face to his throat and watching as he swallowed. His gaze was drawn to the motion, crawling over the slender line of the smaller man’s throat. A twitch of Izaya’s lips drew his attention back to his face and, inevitably, those eyes once again. 

They reminded him of those soft looks from training and the serious determination. Despite how Shizuo had treated the navigator thus far, Izaya carried a certain nonchalance around Shizuo the way most others didn’t. Yet, that was likely why Celery drew out so much ire from him too. Izaya had been suspicious; the way he handled himself raised alarms in Shizuo’s head from their first meeting onward. 

He had been  _ right _ . 

And now he’d caught Celery and he could  _ prove  _ his true nature. That tight grip of satisfaction crawled up his back. 

A pressure against his chest awoke Shizuo from his daze. Izaya squirmed in his grip, trying to escape; not that Shizuo would allow it. The blonde grabbed Izaya’s free wrist, trapping it against the wall as he leaned in. Izaya wasn’t going to escape on his watch. “What are you  _ doing _ , Izaya?” 

His voice escaped him much quieter, yet more intense than previously; like a feral growl almost. Like prey before a hunter, Izaya seemed to shudder out a gasp which the shorter man bit off. The noise he was about to slip was lost now, but Shizuo didn’t linger on it any longer as the raven started, “I—” 

All of a sudden, Izaya’s attempt at speech was interrupted by a loud frantic ringing which rumbled throughout the ship. It was the raid alarm—they were under attack. As if on cue, Saburo’s voice rang out over the ship-wide emergency alarm. “Invaders! Everyone to your battle stations, immediately!” 

Hearing the call, Shizuo let go; his earlier aggressive glower withered away for an impassive calm before battle as he released his captive. Backing away from Izaya who stayed stuck to the wall like the blonde was still pinning him to it, Shizuo grabbed the lantern he had dropped all while keeping an eye on the raven. Now wasn’t the time for persecution, it seemed. They needed to focus on the assholes who decided  _ now _ was a good time to invade their ship. But, it wasn’t like he would just allow Izaya to go free like this. 

_ This isn’t over, Celery.  _

He glared daggers at the man before he gestured towards the office’s exit with his head and turned to leave. 

~

The usual scenery of the Katei’s deck at night under the moon was rather tranquil. Dark but serene, the sound of waves lapping against the ship was calming in tandem with the gentle moonlight as the mild scent of the ocean’s salt water carried in the air. In the summer, the air cooled to a refreshing feeling that would crawl along one’s skin like nature’s caress. 

But on this night, when Shizuo arrived on deck, the ship was a contrary warzone steeped in the hot tension of battle. 

Numerous outsiders had breached their ship’s walls and were being fended off by some of the crew. There weren’t too many enemies present yet, but it was clear to see the enemy ship was about to send plenty more over. It may have been the dead of night, but the other ship had lit up what felt like every light source there had ever been which reliably illuminated most of the Katei and her deck. 

Of course, no one had wasted a moment, even those who had been sleeping were emerging to the alarm. In emergencies like this, their doctor Shinra would wait on hand for any injuries but he’d also act to make sure things were secure in attacks too. Saburo the lookout was of course on deck towards the bow, engaging in a fight with two enemies. Nearby, Erika was close to the stern where there were fewer foes. With her sword in one hand and the other reaching for the gun hidden in the holster on her thigh, she was prepared for battle. Not too far away, Kyouhei and Walker emerged with their faces serious but calm. The taller man gripped his sword as he approached while the shorter already held a gun in his hand. 

It didn’t take more than a few moments for the first mate to assess the situation. But Shizuo was perfectly calm; it wasn’t the first time this had happened. Besides, the reliable shine of the full moon helped him retain that calm in its familiarity. Plus, despite their numbers, the enemy’s skills were nothing to be concerned about, he could tell from just a glance. Tom probably wouldn’t even need to come bother himself with this at all, but of course, they all knew he would no matter what. In fact, he’d emerged not far from Saburo by the bow, quick to help as always. Vorona had emerged not far from Shizuo’s other side closer to the bow as well, and it wasn’t long before they were all in the midst of a multitude of sword fights.

As first mate, Shizuo would need to take charge. The blonde looked over his shoulder where their new navigator was—or, rather, should have been. Dread flushed through him as disappointment clouded his chest. 

“Tch.” Shizuo clicked his tongue as anger bubbled back up his throat. So, that shitty little celery stick had fled, had he? Used this opportunity to head to the other side and use a lifeboat to flee? Most likely. Shizuo growled at the thought. But this was no time to focus on that celery bastard.

Shizuo pushed away those dark thoughts; he needed to focus on the battle ahead of him. Fights didn’t usually pose a challenge for Shizuo; he was practically a fighting machine. However, even for him, such numbers were quite troubling. Given the difference in size, each member would have to fight more than five enemies at once and even then, more came crawling onto the Katei. 

A burly man rushed at Shizuo, his sword high in the air. The swordmaster easily parried the oncoming attack, catching it before pushing back and sending the other’s sword flying. Shizuo didn’t get much more time as another pirate charged at him with a shout. However, before this guy could strike, the blonde elbowed him in the gut and sent him into one of the other foes. This caused the large group gathering behind him to tumble like dominoes as they crashed into the floor with a loud thud. Shizuo didn’t even spare a glance at them as he fended off another oncoming strike with his sword. They were like roaches with how they kept returning even after being struck down so severely; how unusual.

Over by the bow, Erika had come to support Saburo with a sword in one hand and a gun in the other. The brunette woman usually didn’t care much for fighting, she was much more into other sorts of violent activity. But, she could pack a punch when it came to the sword. Shizuo had trained her personally, after all. Not to mention her skills with guns as one of the ship’s designated gunners, she had the best aim on the Katei. However, guns were very inefficient when it came to such numbers; they were highly lethal weapons but of little use in the face of so many enemies. Thus, rather than it being the one-sided fight it should be, Erika was backed into a corner a bit during this fight. Thankfully, she had Saburo’s support and the two seemed to be taking care of that area well enough. 

Not far from them, Kyouhei was striking down pirates like flies. With his trusty rapier in hand, he was quick and graceful; unbecoming of a man his height and built. Most who face Kyouhei for the first time underestimate him for his weapon of choice and are met with huge regret. After all, the quartermaster wasn’t the Katei’s third-best fighter for nothing. But even for Kyouhei, facing this amount of enemy pirates at once was a struggle. Walker’s presence made up for that, though. The deranged cook could be a bit fire-happy, but thanks to Tom and Kyouhei he knew his limitations and wouldn’t go and burn the Katei down with his favorite flamethrower. Instead, he used the rest of his arsenal of guns to shoot down people after Kyouhei’s back. Though, Shizuo wished he would be more like Erika and actually pick up that sword from his waist more. With how things looked, he probably didn’t need to worry about those two either. 

A loud crash caught the first mate’s attention, drawing it toward the side he recalled Tom and Vorona were at. The boatswain had begun it seemed; her graceful charge. The younger blonde plowed through the enemies like a bulldozer with how she fought. There was virtually no fault in her movements; smooth and crisp as she beat the incoming weapon-wielding foes with just her hands and feet. Her trusty sword was still sheathed, not even needed with how she fought. Vorona was the second-best fighter on the ship, skilled with prior martial arts knowledge and quick at learning the sword and other weapons. She was a prodigy when it came to fighting; if only that could also apply to conversing. Despite her ability to be a one-woman army generally rendering support unnecessary, Tom worked to cover her smoothly, positioning himself out of her way as he helped with a few stubborn ones using his trusty revolver. It was a relief to see the captain was safe despite the chaos.

Now, the only problem was  _ that _ . 

“Oi! Blondie!” A gruff screech made Shizuo’s eye twitch in irritation. “You can’t take all of us!” With a scream, the caller and his assailants all charged at Shizuo together in hopes of overwhelming the blonde. There were around seven… ten… no, eleven people coming at him.

This was going to be a lot more troublesome than Shizuo had first thought. 

~

“Alright, we found it!” 

“Shut the fuck up, dumbass—you wanna get caught?”

The second voice had a point; with all the racket the intruders were making while trying to be covert, it was a miracle any of them had lasted however long they had so far as pirates. Among the inevitable noise made as the small band of would-be thieves worked at removing a fairly large motor belonging to the Katei, none of them realized they’d already been discovered. 

“Hey! Be careful with this shit! It’s worth more than your head!” The most commanding voice of them was speaking in a whisper yet it was loud enough to be heard.

That was enough entertainment for now. 

A brief groan following a quick and dull sound rang out quietly enough, but the group heard it clear as day. The commanding voice from before panicked, “Hey—what the hell was that?” 

But one after another, similar groans came another three times before there was just one intruder left standing. This supposed leader of the group was a joke with how he had done a piss-poor job of leading and was much too slow to react to the falling of his subordinates. Not to mention how his own defences were lacking too—before he could even think of turning to see their attacker, his eyes rolled back and he fell. With all five of them unconscious on the floor, there came a pitying sigh.

“Shinra sure is sloppy, letting these goons get all the way down here,” Izaya huffed, brushing his hands off. “Well, I suppose just one man wouldn’t be able to keep perfect security of all the entrances to this ship…”

Matching his expectations, the attack on deck was just a diversion. Granted, it had obviously been executed poorly, but Izaya became more and more sure of it when he’d seen the fight on deck starting. Not that the obvious plan to steal the expensive motor had really been all that clever so much as it was gutsy. 

The biggest issue though was that these pirates had already managed to break the damn thing.

“Tch,” Izaya clicked his tongue as he saw the damage done to the motor. There was no salvaging a quick fix for that. “Amateurs.”

That was sure to cause issues on the Katei. 

In any case, he had a lot of work ahead of him. For such a small crew that had survived the dangers of the seas for so long, it was a mystery how they didn’t catch such an obvious plot. It was a good thing Izaya was here now. 

It didn’t take him too long to push all of the passed out enemies, save for their leader, overboard and then drag that one along back on deck for what would surely be a much more interesting fate. 

There was just one thing left to do now, and quickly. 

~

Shizuo would make a quick glance over to his crewmates from time to time, checking on their conditions. Of course, as first mate, that was a duty of his but that wasn’t why he was doing it. They were all doing as well as he’d expected and many of the enemies were being driven off now. As such, their battle with this other pirate crew should be wrapping up fairly soon. On his end, his battle had dragged out a little longer than it could have. But Shizuo simply hated being forced into using his full strength or anywhere near it really, so he was putting it off. Yet, he knew that the feud would end quicker if he did. 

That internal battle he was waging inside unknowingly distracted him; to the point that the blond only realized an enemy had gotten right behind him when he  _ knew  _ it was too late. He felt the adversary right behind him and had just enough time to turn to see them swinging their sword, but only a fleeting hope that he might block or evade the incoming attack on time. Within his time-slowed adrenaline stricken mind, Shizuo saw the flash of the enemy’s blade aimed at his chest and felt his sword-wielding arm rising to meet it as quickly as his experienced instincts could manage. 

In this bizarre detachment from reality, Shizuo still knew it wouldn’t be fast enough.

Then his mind was given something else to process as it waded painfully slowly through the heavy sludge of an impossible event that had nevertheless just occurred. His attacker was on the ground now, not moving. Shizuo’s own sword froze in the air in front him as he had to force his head to look down at his now clearly deceased enemy. The man had a knife sticking out of his temple. A very familiar-looking knife at that.

Through the sounds of battle, an unsuitably jubilant laughter cut through the tense atmosphere like a knife through butter, striking every ear like a sharp windchime. 

“Aren’t you being far too easy on them, Shizu-chan?”

Like a magnet, Shizuo was drawn to the owner of the voice as most everyone else was. There standing in the moonlight was the voice’s owner whom Shizuo had thought he’d never see again. The blond never thought he would be so relieved to see that arrogant and cocky smirk on that face—yet, here he was. A mixture of emotions thrummed through him as he could do nothing but gape at the shorter man; an odd sense of wonder spread at seeing those familiar features. This man’s voice alone was enough to throw him.

Shizuo was almost gravely hurt.

Izaya saved him.

Izaya had returned.

Izaya never left.

Izaya was still there… with them—

—with  _ him _ . 

Shizuo wasn’t sure what the choking feeling in his throat was, why it was so strong, and why it only seemed to ever happen around Izaya—but it was weird and alien to him, leaving him immensely uncomfortable. So he tried to focus on the present and push that away. He had to focus back into the moment and force himself to function again.

Izaya held more knives in one hand near the neck of an enemy pirate who looked out of sorts on the floor of the deck while Shizuo spotted a sword strapped to his hips.

In the first mate’s periphery, some enemies were toppling over each other to retreat away from his crewmates while others were staring at Izaya and his captive in bewilderment, looking oddly more concerned and...scared? That emotion just didn’t quite make sense. Why would they be looking at the captured pirate that way? It was quite unusual for a pirate’s behavior.

“Found some rats at one of the motors, this one was leading them,” Izaya spoke casually, as though he hadn’t just saved Shizuo’s life. “They were trying to steal it, how shameful.” Shaking his head, the navigator shrugged as though he were talking about a minor inevitability like unruly children. “How embarrassing it must be to be caught,” he turned his attention to the remaining enemy crew on board, raising his voice as he addressed them. “But really now, it could be worse, your precious ship could be burning, awaiting destruction from deadly flames!" The raven laughed as a smoky smell mixed with that of the salty sea. His laughing calmed as the enemies grew more restless, some paling and others being thrown into panic. "Now, if only you were lucky enough for that to be merely hypothetical.” 

Izaya declared this in a light-hearted manner, tricking several enemies into his pace while the sharper of them were already fleeing the Katei to their ship. Shizuo snapped his attention to the enemy's boat; his eyes widened at the sight of bright orange flames and dark smoke. Yet, unlike the enemy, the first mate did not puzzle over it and instead allowed his gaze to return to Izaya: that lithe frame, the calm and confident stance of the raven not far from him, the eyes that he could never look away from on that face that was shrouded in only lies and obfuscated secrets and truth partnered with a silky voice commanding the very air around them all. 

It was in that moment that Shizuo could finally close his mouth as his mind reeled—

“ _ Breathtaking...” _

—was all his mind offered right then. But this was forced out of his mind as quickly as it had formed when the man in Izaya’s grasp stirred a bit, gasping in a struggle before he screamed. “Retreat! All hands back to the Cutlass!” 

When the surviving enemies did as the captured pirate said immediately and went back to their own ship, it was clear to those of the Katei what had happened:

Izaya had taken down and captured the enemy Captain. 

Said Captain was quickly dropped on the deck and kicked right onto his back as Izaya held his knives up between his fingers in one hand as a threat, and the other hand removed his sword from the holster and pointed it down at the Captain’s face. The moon shined down behind Izaya’s figure as he merely smirked at the enemy he had effectively pinned to the floor. But, Shizuo saw those uncompromising red eyes lit with satisfaction and how they only seemed all the more striking in the dark. A matching deeper voice emerged from the raven, piercing the now near-silence hanging in the air.

“Now then, I recommend you surrender your treasures immediately, lest you wish to face all of us yourself,  _ Captain _ .” 

~   
After that, the opposing pirate captain had surrendered a fair amount of their treasures to the Katei and were given time to put out the fire on their ship and leave. Though they were threatened that if they were to try anything sly, then the Katei’s crew would not hesitate to shoot and sink them into the deep ocean. Saburo stayed at the look-out to watch them as the rest of the Katei gathered in the dining hall. 

They all sat a bit spread out between the two large tables with each having some small refreshments after their battle. At one table, Shinra was treating Vorona’s light wounds; thankfully the crew hadn't gotten very injured beyond a couple of scrapes and bruises. Across from them, Erika and Walker sat together as they watched the other table—specifically, a certain raven carefully. Said raven sat beside Kyouhei and across from Shizuo and Tom. With the battle over and the Katei safe, the crew could cool down. But first, there was one thing that needed to be clarified. 

“Alright, now that we are all settled…” Tom led the discussion, drawing the attention of the crew. “Izaya, could you tell us what happened on your end? How did you discover their captain?”

As all eyes turned to him, Izaya felt the wave of attention wash over him. They were sharp and observative, but no one appeared suspicious. Aside from Shizu-chan, that is. Though, that wasn’t all there was in his gaze, however, Izaya would have to think about that later. 

“When the alarm sounded, I went to get a sword,” he started. He felt Shizuo’s stare burn into his skin. “I made to head for the deck but when I saw the enemy there, I got suspicious of something.”

“Oh! What did you see, Iza-Iza?” Erika’s somehow still energetic voice broke through the story. The spark in her eyes made her seem like she was listening to an old pirate’s legend instead of a factual recount of something. 

Equally as enthusiastic and interested as his fellow cook, Walker prompted. “Got suspicious of…?” 

The two were practically on the edge of their seats as they had scooted closer to the other table to listen to the navigator’s tale. They reminded him a bit of the twins when they were still young enough to get bedtime stories out of him; Izaya felt himself soften at that. Letting a small grin cross his expression, he continued. “Well, I’ll tell you.” 

Looking around again briefly, he noticed the general atmosphere lightened thanks to the cooks’ behavior. Though Shinra and Vorona seemed the same as they usually did, one strangely chippier and the other impassive, Kyouhei was a bit less tense as he sipped his cool water and Tom was smiling as he leaned back against the support of his seat. Only Shizu-chan hadn’t let up the tension, although Izaya caught a hint of the blonde’s shoulders relaxing a bit. 

“Considering the sheer number of attackers and how quickly they’d sent so many, it was either going to be an incredibly stupid move or they were up to something,” The navigator explained. Granted, it seemed to have been that the enemy pirates were both up to something and executing a stupid move, but still. “So, I investigated some of the other entrances to our lower decks. And, low and behold! There was a group of five, trying to steal one of the motors.”

Like that, the atmosphere dropped in an instant. Everyone appeared to be at least a little bit peeved, even the blank-faced Vorona. Shizuo was the first to react though, in a fit of agitation. “Of course, they would…!” The first mate glared daggers at a wall, averting his gaze from Izaya as he likely pummeled imaginary enemies in his mind. 

Kyouhei, their engineer merely let his head fall back where he sat, anticipating the amount of work from this that was sure to come as he groaned. “Did they really need to do that…?”

Tom sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Likely he had an incoming headache just thinking about the whole ordeal. 

“And?” Shinra’s probing broke past the bad air, clearing it out as he brought the discussion back to order. “What did you do after that, Izaya?” The medic seemed more amused rather than annoyed. “Clearly, there was more to it than disabling the enemy and capturing their captain.”

Izaya glanced at the medic as he started up again. “Well really, what happened from there was more luck,” the raven answered and Shizuo’s glare returned. “They were so busy trying to be unnoticed that they didn’t even realize I was there so it was easy to knock them out fast. Further, the leader of the group, I just thought he was leading their mission, not that he was actually the Captain. What luck, right?” His last statement was aimed towards Shizuo who continued to give him a skeptical gaze. The first mate didn’t seem to let up, but no one paid him any mind. 

Vorona now actually looked over to Izaya, clearly paying more attention than she had appeared to be before. Izaya wasn’t done.

“And, with such a sloppy execution of their attempted theft, they broke the motor too.” He sighed, “I checked it out, but it doesn’t look good, I’m afraid.”

For Kyohei, this only confirmed the massive amount of work that lay ahead of him. Wordlessly, he groaned again and looked at Tom as if he might tell him this was all some dream. 

Tom gave the engineer a sympathetic smile before turning to Izaya. “Thanks for the report, Izaya.” 

“You’re most welcome, Captain,” Izaya answered, pleased that the suspicion on him had been kept to a minimum.

“Wait.” Shizuo interjected. “That doesn’t explain the fire.”

Ah, but of course Shizu-chan was questioning him further! Then again, the fire was rather significant in all fairness.

“Well I started it, of course,” Izaya elaborated. “After returning to the deck with the knocked-out captain, I saw everyone still fighting, see. I thought, at this rate we would stay like this until morning!” With a conspiratorial grin, he continued. “So, I snuck over to their ship, while you all kept them busy... and set fire to a room not far below their deck. That room was rather flammable actually, with all the tinder and dry wood laying around,” the raven smirked, remembering how pathetic that whole crew had been. “That’s all there is to it.” 

“Ah, what did you use for the starter?” Intrigued by the fire part, Walker inquired enthusiastically. The dirty blonde man’s concern was mostly on this part of the night, it seemed. 

Vorona was close enough to deal a swift swat to Walker’s head. “Don’t think about it, I won’t have you getting into the equipment again.”

Slightly thrown off by hearing the blonde woman speak more than a couple of words, Izaya watched for a moment as Vorona chided the cook like a child.

“Come on, Yumacchi, we’ll make a big bonfire on the next beach we land at!” Erika’s enthusiasm in her friend’s… hobby, seemed enough to cheer him up.

“We need to light some fireworks too!” The two seemed to be already making plans for the Katei’s next landing that their fellow crewmates did not approve of from what Izaya could tell by the way Tom silently shook his head and Kyohei sighed. Yet he also saw affection in the movements.

Aside from that, Izaya could feel it thick in the air; he and Shizu-chan weren’t quite done yet.

“Well, I’ll have a quick look at the motor before I turn in,” Kyohei announced. “G’night, guys.” The others responded in kind as he left the dining room.

“G’night, Dota-chin!” 

“Good night!” 

“Get some rest, everyone.” Tom asserted before the rest of the crew left. “Tomorrow we’ll have to clean up the mess!” 

Before he exited, Izaya caught Shizuo’s gaze on him. It was clear that he wasn’t off the hook just yet. A tinge of concern held onto the back of his mind as he left Shizuo alone with Tom and headed back to his own quarters. 

~

Izaya knew he hadn't slept nearly as much as he needed before the sound of knocking on his door woke him. It could have been anyone, really. Still, there were only so many options and Izaya  _ knew _ who it was.

It took him just a moment to get up, look somewhat presentable, and open his door. There stood Shizuo in the darkness of the hall, holding a lantern. His face was partially lit by the dimmed light. Izaya let nothing show on his expression, particularly in the way of surprise. Shizu-chan's partially shadowed face persisted in staring at him and Izaya wondered if he'd bother to say anything anytime soon.

After a long tense silence, Shizuo muttered. "I didn't tell Tom."

At this, Izaya's face let far more show than he even knew; a gasp so soft he barely heard it himself between parted lips. Eyes widened, his quick mind tried to analyze the situation as quickly as he could. 

Shizu-chan had cared nothing for observing common conversation etiquette and had gotten right to the point. This wasn't the surprising part. It was that the first mate hadn't told their Captain. Considering how angry he'd been at catching Izaya in the Captain's quarters earlier, he had no reason not to. Yet again, Izaya could not pinpoint the emotions in Shizu-chan's eyes.

"Why didn’t you, Shizu-chan?" his voice curled around the words as if to protect them from the likely harsh response they'd receive.

Shizuo's face looked pinched at the question, looking extremely reluctant to give him an answer. He settled with a gruff answer and a leer. "You don't need to know that." 

"Do  _ you  _ even know, Shizu-chan?" Izaya shot back, voice a little louder than before in its accusatory tone. Izaya tilted his head to follow the smirk, not withdrawing from the stare. 

Shizuo's eye twitched in annoyance. "No, you just don't need to know, Celery," he huffed, cutting the conversation short by turning away from the raven. 

Izaya chuckled deep in his throat. Just as the blonde was about to leave, he stopped him. "Why, then, are you telling me this?"

Shizuo froze at the question. "You..." He began, his eyes still averted from Izaya. The first mate paused, lingering in the tense silence between them before he met Izaya's gaze.

Izaya felt his smirk drop towards sincerity as those dark honey eyes stared unwavering into his own. As the first mate didn’t answer for a long while, the raven decided to prompt him. "Hm? What about me, Shizu-chan?"

"You're hiding something, aren't you?" 

Shizuo dropped the loaded question in a whisper, just audible enough for the air between them. Izaya’s mouth twitched only slightly, but it wasn’t likely to have escaped Shizuo’s notice. In caustic defense, Izaya’s voice rose as he pulled his hand away from the blond completely. “And you, first mate? Don’t you have secrets, hm? What about this brother I’ve heard mention of?” Izaya was certain enough provocation in the right area could pull the pressure off of himself. 

And, he was right. 

Shizuo was gritting his teeth now, eyes enraged and his body tensed. Would he take another swing at him like on his first day? Or, would he corner him like back at Tom’s office earlier that night? Yet, unlike Izaya’s several predictions, Shizuo straightened up and relaxed his body marginally. Where was the sort of revealing reaction that Izaya looked for? 

“How about this, Celery,” Shizu’s voice was calm. “We don’t mention each other’s secrets,” his dark eyes had narrowed to seriousness. “But if your secrets turn out to hurt somebody, you do anything suspicious, cause any harm to this crew—” his voice had hardened in the threat, volume rising as he spoke to emphasize the words only to end in a growl: “I  _ will  _ end you.” 

Defensive anger, Izaya understood that well enough. It was even logical and predictable. Why then, were there more things behind those eyes that Izaya could see, but not read? It frustrated the raven to no end. 

Despite his frustrations, Izaya gave a calm smirk. “Fine then, Shizu-chan. We have a deal.”

“And don’t fuck around when we train.” Stepping back, Shizuo turned to leave. 

Izaya merely watched the first mate’s back as he left. Yet the departure left him strangely wanting. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kagura: The illustration in this chapter is drawn by me Kagura!   
> Now with some trivia!  
> Firearms are useful weapons that pirates use as well! However, they can be quite expensive to care for and keep supplied so it is not a popular choice for those living at sea. You find more people using guns on the mainland countries.


End file.
